A group of people are walking from Manlius to Utica overnight along the former Erie Canal to increase awareness of how interpreters help non- or limited-English speakers.

The walk is organized by the Multicultural Association of Medical and Legal Interpreters of New York.

To enjoy informed consent at the doctor's office and due process in courts, people need to have the ability to understand and be understood, according to the non-profit's executive director Cornelia E. Brown. To enjoy these rights, a speaker of limited English requires the help of a neutral and well-trained bilingual interpreter, she said.

A small group will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at the Green Lakes State Park entrance to the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. The walkers will go through the night and will meet with others at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Marcy lock, Whitesboro to finish the last five miles of the walk together into Utica.

The non-profit represents about 150 interpreters in Syracuse, Utica and Albany.